Four blocks of flats in Haywards Heath given thumbs up

Plans for four seven-storey blocks of flats in Haywards Heath have been approved by Mid Sussex District Council. The 145 flats – including 44 classed as affordable – will be built in Perrymount Road, where numbers 37-55 have already been mostly demolished.The council gave outline permission for the plans last year, which include more than 1,200sqm of A2 class commercial floor space on the ground floor. The A2 class covers financial and professional services such as banks and estate agencies, though that could be changed with future planning permission.Members of the planning committee were told on Tuesday that the flats would all be built to rent and there would be space for 76 cars. There was unanimous approval for the scheme, with Dick Sweatman (Con, East Grinstead – Herontye) describing the rent rather than buy decision as ‘a good point’.The council only received three letters objecting to the plans – unusual for such a large development.Parking was one of the main points raised, with the 76 spaces described as ‘unacceptably inadequate’ for the 145 homes. There were also concerns that the buildings would be ‘overly dominant’, with calls to reduce them to six storeys – even though the applicants had already reduced one of the blocks from eight storeys to seven.